Will Brink is the owner of the Brinkzone Blog. Will has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published. Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.

His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.

35 Responses for The (possible) Down Sides of Male HRT/TRT

Jim:

June 23, 2013 04:32 pm

I understand what you are saying Will, however there aren’t really any appreciable side effects when managed by a competent physician (yes you allude to this in the video). My experience is that there aren’t masses of rogue docs prescribing testosterone inappropriately, rather it’s difficult to find a provider willing to prescribe, competent or otherwise.

The most important take away from the video is to find a physician that understands corrective therapy. A fairly effective screening tool a patient can use to quickly determine a physician’s competency is to ask if they manage estradiol. If no, then they don’t know what whey are doing. If they do manage estrogen, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are competent, but will likely know more than a significant majority.

Some good points Jim, but depends on what you’d consider “appreciable side effects” and the number of truly competent physicians in this area few and far between. The vast majority will simply diagnose low T, and prescribe T (and that’s if you can find one willing to do so at all as you point out) and that’s about it.

Test for, much less manage E2, rare. Let men know their gonads will shrink, fertility shut down, HPTA shut down, etc, also rare in my experience, but slowly improving. Correct use of HCG both in timing and dose can maintain gonad function and fertility (if that’s important to the man), and good luck finding a doc who knows that and will prescribe for it, etc.

Use of drugs such as Clomid and others to help maintain HPTA function, well, the above is tough enough and far outside the SOC for vast majority.

Now, some men don’t care about the above, and that’s OK too, but they need to be made aware of it as a potential drawback, and most are not in my experience.

The problem is much worse in Canada. Good luck finding a doctor that knows jack about T replacement and they will just supply the T and not check much else. Perhaps your next video should be on natural ways to increase T.

Dear Will,
I’m a big fan of your web site and a former (satisfied) client of Monica Mollica. Regarding TRT, I’m 54 and this August I will have been on Androgel for a year. So far, happy with the results but recently I started talking to a local nutritionist who has recommended Pine Tree Pollen for TRT instead of prescription Androgel. Monica is of the opinion I should stay on Androgel but I was wondering if you had heard of Pine Tree Pollen and if it’s effective?
Thank,
Robert Buongiorno

When I was on it, it was discovered that my red blood cell count rose. I was going to stay on it and just donate blood every 2-3 months, but we lost our health insurance, so I couldn’t afford it now anyhow.

Polycythemia (increase in red blood cell volume) is the most appreciable side effect of testosterone supplementation. When red blood cell concentration is too high, blood viscosity can increase to the point where it can lead to obstructed blood vessels. The only way to deal with this is to lower your testosterone dose or give blood.

In a decade of therapy, I have only had to donate blood 1 time and that was about 5 years ago…

Actually there is one additional potential side effect that effects some men. Testosterone therapy can exacerbate or cause obstructive sleep apnea. It’s not a problem as long as treatment is also occurring with a CPAP.

Yes, actually I did. I can’t cover them all (and most are rare) but did mention the most common, such as effects on fertility, testes shrink, etc.

Point of the vid was to point out TRT is not as simply as giving out T gels and shot, and vast majority of docs don’t know that, as they don’t test for, much less control, E2, HPTA shut down, fertility issues, etc, which I mention in the vid. That’s the major point of the vid: TRT/HRT is (1) more complex than most people – including medical professionals who should know better – understand and (2) has some possible drawbacks people are often not made aware of.

In many cases, the proper dose, (intensity x duration x frequency), of exercise is the only prescription necessary to correct male hormonal balance, (I suppose creatine could be added to the equation), but for this be to be precise would require cooperation between a trainer and a doctor. Is there a facility where such work is being done?

A good doc will monitor all kinds of things if you are put on TRT (regular blood tests). A good doc will go through a whole list of issues that you should be concerned with (Will mentioned some). If you think the patches and gels that are advertized on TV will increase your T levels you’re mistaken. Getting the T shots or pellets is NOT the same as taking steriods. So if you think you’re going to pack on extra muscles as a result of the TRT you won’t. How do I know this? I’m on TRT.

Cal, one should indeed notice an improvement in body comp (less BF and more LBM) when on TRT and studies find most do. It’s not going to the to the level of those taking high doses of AAS for obvious reasons, but one benefit of TRT is improvements in body comp when going from a state of low T to high normal T withing physiological range.

Yes I have seen some change in body composition. I’ve never really had a lot of excess weight, so the changes haven’t been huge. Will, your information is the best. Please keep feeding us good information.

Funny thing is ……….. (I thought it was kind of a scam?) I am 41, and since I began taking it – I too am leaner, feel stronger, Can workout more (less pain after). I am very impressed (And I take one pill a day not the recommended 2). So yeah – I am happy it is “psuedo-natural” vs. The Shots / Gels.

Hi Will, informative as usual (and I like your articles at Life Extension and Life Enhancement). When you debunked the HCG-enhancers (previous video), you didn’t mention HGH enhancers. Are any of them useful, or are there reasons to avoid increasing your HGH? There is product called “Serovital” that has gotten some good press, but…

Will, you mention HCG as an alternative to keep the testes producing T. Do you know anything about DAA and whether it is actually useful? I’m 55 and I gave it a try. Didn’t have blood tests done before and after, but while I was using it I had more strength in my workouts, stopped falling asleep after dinner and seemed to have more stamina in the bedroom. Just curious about whether this could be a placebo effect, or the real thing.

Please, when you have a video about an important topic, include a written version, like before the videos became popular. Reading an article is quicker for me, and time is a factor when learning about your information posts. Thank you very much.

I will not be able to write a full article with the vids as that would totally negate the reason I do the vids: they allow me to get information out rapidly and timely, where as articles can take hours to days or longer.

The vast majority of people respond better to visual and audio than they do to text, especially in the electronic age.

This has been a big concern of mine, especially at this age. I agree that an initial diagnosis should be made, first, and then go on from there. I guess I’d just like some of this middle-age-thing to be more pleasant and have a shot at looking better, physically, than I do, now. But, the cosmetic appearance at my age is less important than my overall health. Thanks, Will, for your reasoned approach. I’ll be calling the doc, soon.

I’m 54 and on prescription TRT that was agreed to between my doctor & nutritionist. Low T is not something you should experiment with, go see your doctor, get a blood test and fully understand the risks as they apply to your particular situation. Contrary to what you may read at the supplement stores, you cannot boost T with anything over the counter. You’ll waste a lot of money chasing after the end of the rainbow!

I have been on TRT for many years now. I was diagnosed with Follicular lymphoma 3 years ago.. It was level 4. I received the “CHOP” Treatment. I feel if it wasn’t for the TRT I would have not had the strength to continue working out and striving to overcome the cancer. I DID LOSE SOME POUNDS, BUT LUCKILY IT WAS ALL FAT. The TRT kept my lean muscle intact through the entire treatment. Now 3 years later I am in remission and still working out feeling great.